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chicken

In our area, back to school is coming up fast. Today, we took our exchange student school supply shopping and just days ago, the last of Zach’s curriculum arrived for the year. There’s no shortage of planning and preparing for the school year, and that means a whole lot of busy days ahead, both as we soak up the last days of summer and prepare for the school year, and in the days ahead where we’re going to be teaching, working, and keeping the house clean.

Luckily, I have a crock pot. And trust me, I use it and use it often. I love being able to use my crock pot to keep meals easy, and starting a meal early means I get to work on other things and not worry about dinner.

I love this recipe that my grandmother gave me. She said she found it online, and, after doing a little searching, it looks like it is modified from Campbell’s themselves. Start with 5-6 chicken breasts, a can of Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, some onion, some green onion, a little soy sauce, and the cashews and chow mein noodles. Cook the chicken breasts first. Even better, you can pre-cook these another night and refrigerate. I try to make a chicken dish a day or two before this one, then refrigerate the cooked chicken until the day of this meal. Then, you have even less day-of prep!

Chop your chicken, onion, and green onion. You could also choose to do this before the day you’re cooking to eliminate your day-of prep.

Spray your crock pot with some non-stick cooking spray, then load in all of the ingredients except the rice and the chow mein noodles. I typically leave out one of the cans of cashews in order to reserve them for a topping at the end.

Stir in the soup and soy sauce, coating the ingredients. It might look a little strange, but I promise, it’s so delicious! Turn your crock pot on low for 5-9 hours, or set it on high for 2-3 hours. It’s just long enough to get the kids through the day on low, or enough to take care of those “oh, shoot! I just got home and realized I forgot to turn on the crock pot!” moments on high.

Finish your meal with a little cooked rice and some crunchy chow mein noodles, along with the rest of the cashews.

Spray the inside of the crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients except chow mein noodles in crock pot.
Cook 5-9 hours on low, or on high for 2-3 hours.
Serve over rice, with chow mein noodles and additional cashews for crunch.

If y’all have been around the blog a day or two, you know I love the chicken, bacon, and ranch combo. They’re flavors that were just made for each other! So, when it came time to make dinner the other night and I had no idea what to make, I needed to see what I had in my pantry and fridge. I came up with a few items that made a big impact, and it all started with the chicken, bacon, and ranch I had on hand.

Start with what’s pictured above. A lot of the ingredients are delicious, common, and you may even have them on hand.

Cook your pasta– I always do about half a cup for each family member, plus an extra half cup (so we have leftovers). While it’s cooking, dice your chicken and begin cooking it in a skillet. Again, I do one chicken tender piece (smaller than a breast) per family member, plus one extra.

Once the chicken is cooked, place it in a bowl and set it aside, then put your peppers and onions in the skillet. The bell peppers can be whatever you have on hand or on sale. I happened to have already cut 4 different colors of bell peppers for pizza night the night before and had leftovers.

Saute the peppers in a little bit of olive oil until the peppers and onions are tender and the onions are translucent. Remove them from the skillet and set aside.

Add a little bit of butter to the skillet and saute your mushrooms. I like to use sliced baby bellas, but you can use any kind of mushroom you prefer. You’ll want them tender and cooked.

Now, you’ll make your sauce. Take your alfredo sauce (it’s a 15 oz container of Bertolli) and one packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix, and pour the ranch into the alfredo sauce. I give it a quick stir with a knife before I put the lid back on and shake-shake-shake until it’s well mixed.

Add mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoned breadcrumbs on top, then bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes to get the cheese melted and the top crispy. It’s all fully cooked beforehand, so the bake is just to help those flavors meld together a bit more.

The best thing about this recipe is that it’s less recipe, more idea… you can make just enough servings for one person (half a cup of pasta, a chicken tenderloin, a small handful of veggies, baked in the dish), or you can double or triple it for a family. I use a full jar of sauce to make dinner for 6 in a 9×13 pan, but you can use more sauce or less sauce to taste. It would be very easy for me to say “This is how you make it,” but this recipe is so flexible that giving a recipe does it a disservice. Follow the steps, eyeball the ingredients, and I promise, it’ll be perfect every time.

My favorite way to serve it is with homemade garlic knots. And the best part? You can serve it with homemade garlic knots, too! I’ll be sharing the recipe later today on Facebook, so be sure to go over and like me on facebook so you can see the recipe!

Summer… it’s the perfect time for campfires, grilling, and all things… well, summery. Growing up, we had these great summer dinners that were easy, no-mess, and delicious. The best part, of course, being that they were no-mess. Who really likes cleaning up after dinner when they could be enjoying an evening swim or lounging outside by a fire pit? I love foil dinners. They’re so versatile, whether you’re making them in the oven or on the grill, or even on that campfire. But I needed a new foil packet dinner to add into my repertoire, particularly one that had a few of my favorite things… like chicken, bacon, and mushrooms.

I love going out to eat. I think a lot of that is because we just so rarely do go out, so when we do, it’s a real treat. Almost every time that I get to pick where we go, I ask to go to Jose Peppers, because I’m addicted to a certain item on their menu… Pollo Magnifico. It makes sense why they’d call it that. It really is a magnificent chicken dish. At Jose Peppers, they’re sharing seasoned shredded chicken wrapped in a tortilla, then slathered with a jalapeno cream cheese, sprinkled with cheese, and then baked. I love the flavor, but I needed something that would freeze well, and I knew individually sauced tops wouldn’t. For me, that can only mean one thing… it was time to get creative. So, I made this Pollo Magnifico copycat that tastes just like the real thing, but freezes well with no sauce on top.

Start with everything pictured… 3 chicken breasts, 8 burrito-sized tortillas, 2 packages of Cream Cheese (I like Philadelphia), a package of Mexican Blend Cheese (I like Kraft), and tomato and lettuce to garnish. Because I was serving it to people who just didn’t love spice, I left out one jalapeno, so you’ll want to add a finely diced jalapeno in. If you’re still not a fan of spice, you can nix the jalapeno and use taco seasoning instead, or you can do without either and dip it in salsa. It’s your choice, and all of the options will have a great result.

Start by shredding and seasoning your cooked chicken breasts. If you have jalapenos, now is the time to add them in.

Now, mix in the two packages cream cheese and one cup of the shredded cheese. You’ll reserve the other half for a garnish later. Once the mixture is thoroughly blended together, I like to smooth it out and use a knife to make lines so I know about how much to put in each tortilla. But you can totally eyeball it. I’m just really obsessed with filling them all exactly the same.

Spoon your filling onto your burrito-sized tortilla. There’s just enough filling for the 8 tortillas that come in the package Great Value sells, but if you have more or less tortillas, it’s easy to adjust the recipe. Because these freeze very well, you could bake a month’s worth for lunches and then seal them in an airtight bag or container.

Fold the tortilla envelope-style around the mixture, as shown in the steps above. You’ll be placing the tortilla envelopes seam-side down on a pam-sprayed cookie sheet.

Spraying the tops lightly with the cooking spray will also help them brown nicely. Preheat the oven to 350, and bake them for 15 minutes on one side.

Turn them over and you’ll see that they’re browning nicely and the tortillas will now stay shut. Bake another 15 minutes. This allows the cheese inside to melt, as well as the cream cheese, which will ensure that these get the same flavor as that delicious Jose Peppers recipe, but without the mess of a sauced top.

Once they’re done baking, allow any that you’re freezing to cool so they can be frozen and microwaved later. For those that you’re eating immediately, sprinkle the hot tops with cheese so it’ll melt.

Dinner is served. And lunch. And every day you want these after that. They’re so easy to prepare and they’re delicious, restaurant-style stuff. Plus, they pack nicely in a lunch and can be eaten cold or hot. You can’t lose with these.

Of course, making this Pollo Magnifico copycat doesn’t change my choice when we go out to eat. I’ll still be going to Jose Peppers for dinner… maybe I’ll even branch out and order something different! (I wouldn’t bet on it, though…)

I like easy dinners. I mean really easy dinners. With Jeffrey playing soccer non-stop, Zach having a great Music and Movement class, and all of the other day-to-day life, sometimes it is almost dinner time and I’ve forgotten to even think about dinner. It has nothing to do with me having trouble putting down the book I’m reading or anything. It’s totally everyone’s schedules. I swear.

Anyway, this dinner is so ridiculously easy that I can’t believe I didn’t make it sooner.

Start out with three-ish chicken breasts. It’s not an exact science. I used 3 because I had 3 thawed, but if they’re really big, use two. If they’re tiny, use more. You’ll also need 3 bags of Birds Eye Steamfresh Specially Seasoned Southwestern Style Rice. It is seasoned, and has bell peppers, onions, and corn already in it. You’ll also want to check into Campbell’s Great for Cooking Soups– a can of Cream of Chicken and a can of Cheddar Cheese soup are perfect. Add in a drained can of Rotel and you’re golden. I used Mild Rotel because my family just can’t take the spice, but if your family is able to handle it, by all means, load that puppy up with some Hot Rotel (or at least Original).

Cook the chicken fully, then shred it into bite-sized pieces.

Pour the still-frozen rice in and break it up. Yes, it will be a little bit icy– that’s part of how it steams. This will cook into the food when you bake the dish. Now, mix in your chicken.

You’re on the home stretch now with this dish… stir in the two great for cooking soups and the drained Rotel, then pop the casserole in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes, until the casserole is hot and bubbly.

It serves 6-8 people, and it’s so quick and easy to make that you’ll be out of the kitchen and back to reading… I mean, uh, driving the kids around to all of their stuff… in a heartbeat.

A lot of ideas came to mind when I picked up the Key Lime Pie Frosting Creations flavor packet. I thought perhaps I could make a cake, or a special kind of pie, or more ice cream. However, with such innovative key lime flavor, I knew that I had to do something exciting and new!

Start by cutting up 1/2 cup of cilantro, mincing it very finely, as finely as you can manage.

Okay, so maybe mine isn’t quite that fine, but just do your best. I am not a patient woman!

Once you’ve minced up that cilantro (smell it! So yummy!), add in a finely minced clove of garlic, 1/2 C Balsamic vinegar, and 2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil. A couple of large pinches of salt and a sprinkle of pepper will add a little more flavor.

Sprinkle in the contents of one Key Lime Pie Frosting Creations Flavor Packet. Do not add any Frosting Creations Starter Frosting– it’s a bit too sweet for this recipe, so you’re just sticking to the flavor packet on this one.

BAM! Marinade. Now, you’re welcome to stop here and just let this sit for awhile by itself (refrigerated, please!) so the flavors can meld. Use it as a salad dressing or dipping sauce. Or….

…you can see just how far this rabbit hole goes, and try out your marinade on some meat.

I chose chicken, because I feel like Cilantro, Lime, and Chicken work VERY well together.

Cut it up nice and small.

Then soak in your marinade for at least one hour… but preferably longer. The more you soak it, the more flavor you’ll get out of it!

After marinating, cook your chicken in a nonstick skillet.

Once it’s cooked, again, you could stop here and use the chicken any way you please… chicken tacos, a yummy cilantro lime chicken pizza, served over salad (hint: before marinating, reserve some extra marinade to use as a dressing). The sky is the limit!

But, if you want that fancy picture I showed you up top, again, keep going with your Cilantro Lime Marinade to make some Cilantro Lime Chicken Wraps!

Lay out the tortilla of your choice. I used a flour tortilla, but you can use any kind you’d like. I also put on some shredded lettuce and Mexicorn, then topped it with the chicken. Cheese would be another great addition, as would fresh tomatoes, but this is what I had in the fridge. I didn’t exactly plan ahead for dinner…

Wrap it up, then serve with chips and salsa or beans and rice!

And that, my friends, is how you use a Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Flavor Packet to make a marinade! Which flavor do you want to try?

Are you creative in the kitchen? Enter Duncan Hines’ Spring Baking Contest on their website, and you might win a trip to the Duncan Hines Test Kitchen, where you’ll get to meet me and many other talented bakers this fall! Hope to see you there! What are you waiting for? Go enter!

After my grandfather passed away, I inherited every recipe in his house. Some of them are older– recipes from great-grandparents, some dating back to the 1940s or earlier, and some are newer– as recent as the 90s (Oh my gosh… SO long ago!). Some are scrawled on pieces of paper, some torn from cookbooks, some typed with a typewriter onto a recipe card… Some of them have unique stories behind them, and some of them have no stories at all. I even found a couple of recipes that literally were just written on post-its that were stapled together. Whenever I do a post from these recipes, you’ll see a seal on the photo that shows that it’s an heirloom recipe. My family has tried each and every one of these recipes and I will share comments about what they think about each recipe below. I hope you enjoy each of these recipes that we have tried together. If you are coming here from Pinterest, be sure to look in the sidebar for ways to either “like” my facebook page or follow me through an email or RSS subscription!

I honestly don’t know the origin of this recipe. It was clipped from a newspaper, I’m not sure which newspaper or when the original date of publication was. In fact, I’m not even sure who the recipe is from… there was no source listed on the recipe I had clipped– it had been clipped off completely. I wish I knew the original source on it, or at least the publication date.

You’re going to start by boiling chicken. This time around, all I had were thighs, so after boiling I had to de-skin and de-bone them. It would have been easier to use boneless skinless breasts so I could have skipped that step, but it’s truly up to you. You can use a small fryer, some thighs, chicken breasts, literally any chicken you have on hand. For the record, this would also work with turkey meat. Add a chicken bouillon cube to the boiling water, as well.

After the chicken has cooked, set it aside on a plate to be shredded, and save some of the chicken-water (chicken broth? something) in the pot.

Break spaghetti noodles in half, put them in the chicken-water pot, and then add enough water to cover the noodles.

While the spaghetti noodles cook, go ahead and chop some green bell pepper to add to the mixture later. You can also add other colors of bell peppers to the mixture (the original recipe called for red and green, but we only had green on hand).

In a 9×13 casserole dish, combine the shredded chicken, 2 cups of shredded cheddar (we typically shred the blocks fresh, but you can certainly buy it pre-shredded), the bell pepper, a diced onion, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (or your homemade equivalent, but I prefer to use Campbell’s), a little seasoned salt, and a dash of pepper, combining until it’s thoroughly mixed.

Mix in the cooked spaghetti noodles, then cook in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Top with another 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and bake for another 5 minutes, or just long enough to melt the cheese on top, then serve warm.

The entire family loved this dish, from Zach (18 months old) to Dad (I won’t list his age…). It was creamy and easy-to-make (the most time consuming part was de-boning the chicken).

Some perfect pairs for this dish? Dinner rolls, fruit salad or fresh fruit, and a salad. Don’t forget to comment below and tell me what you’d serve with this yummy chicken spaghetti!

Here’s the full recipe below:

Chicken Spaghetti

1 whole chicken, cut up

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 lb spaghetti, broken in half

2 cans mushroom soup

2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp seasoned salt

dash of pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook chicken in a pot with water and a bouillon cube until done, about 45 minutes, then remove chicken and all but two cups of broth.

Add spaghetti noodles, broken in half, to the chicken broth. Add enough water to cook the noodles.

Remove bones from chicken.

Mix all ingredients except spaghetti in a casserole dish until well combined, reserving 1/2 cup shredded cheddar for later, then stir in spaghetti until the pasta is well-coated.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Return to oven for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm.